Stern runs NPR while Klose looks long-term

Originally published in Current, Sept. 25, 2006

Ken Stern will become c.e.o. of NPR Oct. 1, assuming all management duties, while Kevin Klose, now president and c.e.o., will concentrate on planning and fundraising as president. Both will report to NPR’s Board of Directors.

The network also appointed Dana Davis Rehm to senior v.p. for strategy and partnership, a new position.

“During his tenure, Ken has rebuilt the organization from the inside out, creating a new level of leadership and stability,” said Tim Eby, chair of the NPR Board. “He has also actively and strategically redefined NPR’s place in the larger media environment of the future, while nurturing the organization’s crucial position of trust in radio. The NPR Board wants this mission carried forward, along with the person who crafted it.”

Klose will “develop and put into place a significant strategic plan, in collaboration with stations, to raise the resources of NPR and public radio,” Eby said. “We believe this will be truly transformational for the system.”

The fundraising initiative grew out of NPR’s New Realities strategizing. Rehm spearheaded that process and in her new role will oversee the projects and partnerships it inspires.

Klose, who came to NPR in December 1998, hired Stern as executive v.p. in November 1999. The two worked together at the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau and at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.